MATHURA: As effigies of Ravana were set on fire elsewhere on Sunday, an organisation in Mathura offered prayers to the demon king.
Members of the Lankesh Bhakta Mandal offered prayers to Ravana in a three-hour programme at a Shiva temple on the bank of the Yamuna near Laxmi Nagar here.
Organisation president Omveer Saraswat declared on the occasion that a temple to the demon king will be constructed in Mathura.
Saraswat said the demon king was not only knowledgeable but cultured as well.
He was a follower of Lord Shiva, who never visited Sita in his Ashok Vatika all alone, Saraswat said.
He demanded that the practice of burning Ravana's effigy on Dussehra be stopped as it was "unethical" and "pollutes environment".